Brake shoe retainer key



G. ARRASMITH I 2,353,914 BRAKE SHOE RETAINER KEY Nov. 4, 1958 Filed Nov. 30, 1955 P o n e v n I Grant 1']. firrasn z ith WWW @W United States Patent M 2,858,914 BRAKE SHQERETAINERKEY Grant H. Arrasmith, PearlRiver, N. Y., assignor to Amerlcan Brake Shoe Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware 1 Application November 30, 1955, SerialNo. 550,082 1 Claim. (Cl. 188-443) be removably or detachably associated with the brake I head. The relation of the parts issuch that the brake shoe hangs in a vertical relation, withthe head of the key uppermost and the lower end of the key projecting beyond the lower end of the brake shoe and the' brake head.

to strike the lower end of the key with a hammer or the like to drive thekey out of its home position. There are, however, situations where this cannot be easily accomplished, because the particular type of railway equipment does not permit a hammer to be manipulated in this way. For example, in the usual freight truck with inside hung brake shoes the clearances do not permit easy removal of the key in the manner mentioned above.

The primary object of the present invention is to adapt the upper end of the brake shoe key, that is, the end having a head, for removal by means of a standard pinch bar. Particularly, the object of the present invention is to provide ratchet teeth or like serrations along the longitudinal side walls of a brake shoe retainer key so that the end of a pinch bar or similar tool may be engaged therewith to remove the key by leverage.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view in part showing the assembled relation of the brake head, the brake shoe, and the retainer key;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a retainer key constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of the key shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the key on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

The present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 as embodied in a brake shoe key 9, and this key is adapted to be inserted into a keyway afforded by cooperating sections of a brake head 10 and an associated brake shoe 11 In removing the key prior to disassociationof' the brake shoe and the brake heady'it is conventional 2,858,914 Tlatented Nov. 4, 1958 Ice o nventio a ns o hu th h ad 9 s p vid d th a pa of p d ap t lh p u .12. and IQ which. project outward from the forward face orside of an arcuate plate 14 that is integral with the head. The lugs 12 and 13 afford aligned openings 12' and 13 which cooperate in afiording in part a keyway for the key 9 as ,will be described below.

The shoe 1-1 is arcuate in .vertical section as will be obseryed Fig. 1, and projecting from the arcuate back thereof are a pair of end stops 17 and 18. Cooperating :With the end stops 1-7 and 18 are toes 19 and 21 at corresponding ends of the head 10. For-med medially in projecting relation on the back of the shoe 11 is a U- shaped. attaching lug 20, and the rear portion of the-opening ZOTQKOIdCdbY thlS lug is adapted to be aligned with the openings 12' and 13' to complete the keywaysection between the, head 10 ,and the shoe 11.

As s own i Fig 3, and 4. t k y -9 cl des an elongated shank having flat front and rear faces, and relatively-narrow sidewalls 40 and 41 disposed inplanes ene l y n rma to t e surfaces or pl n s of e fr m an r ar face o the s ank. Th :k y is P e era ly m de of r la ve y mn Steel, an a n d. tha i theaupper end iewe n h k y 9 s pr vid withxei he di23' e t at h ng r l tiv th shank 22. The head 23 enables a blow; to be ,deliveredqto the upper end of the key 9 when driving the key 19 ,tohome 'ine it nn iibetr eenith rakezhe d -and th shoe 1.-

Intermediate the head 23 of the key 9 and the opposite or lower end 25 thereof, the key is bowed or warped so as to provide an arcuate portion 26. This arcuate portion 26 of the key is adapted to engage the inner face of the base of the lug 20 as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, in driving the key 9 to its home position, the arcuate portion 26 is placed under compression. y

Between the arcuate portion 26 and the head 23 of the key, a rib 28 is provided on one face of the key for the purpose explained in U. S. Patent 2,138,196. Spaced below the rib 28 at the lower end of the arcuate portion 26, the shank of the key is provided with an angle Offset 30, and this oif-set when the key is in fully inserted position as shown in Fig. 1 is disposed below the lower end of the lug 13 of the brake head so as to afford an abutment tending to prevent accidental displacement of the key 9 from operative position. The shank 22 of the key 9 is made slightly arcuate in the portion 31 that is between the off-set 30 and the lower end 25 of the key. When the key is placed under compression 'as described above, the lower arcuate portion 31 of the key 9 engages the lower edge of the plate 14, and in this manner the head 10 and the shoe 11 are stressed in opposite directions by the compressed key 9, thereby holding the related brake parts together in a fixed manner. In this connection, it will be observed that the lower end portion of the key 9 is provided with a series of serrations 35 any one of which is adapted to abut the lower edge of the plate 14 as shown particularly in Fig. 1. Thus, the serrations 35 constitute lugs adapted to operatively engage the lower edge of the plate 14 tending to assure that the key 9 remains in home position.

Ordinarily a key of the foregoing kind is removed from position between the brake head 10 and the brake shoe 11 by a hammer blow delivered to the lower projecting end 25 thereof. There are situations, however, where this cannot be easily accomplished, and in view of this I have provided teeth 36 on either side walls 40 and 41 of the key 9 in the portion intermediate the head 23 and the arcuate back portion 26 thereof. Each'tooth 36 is defined by a flat shoulder 36S extended inwardly of the related side wallof the key shrink from a line perpendicular to the planes of thefront and rear faces of the key shank. Moreover, each shoulder 36S presents driven home to the extent that the olf-set 30 is disposed below the lower edge of the lug 13, the tooth elements 36 are exposed at the upper end of the key 9 in the area where the head 23 of the key is disposed between the 'upper ends of the related brake parts. These teeth en- -.able the end of a pinch bar to be operatively engaged with the upper end of the key 9 so that by applying'a downward force to the opposite end of the pinch bar the key 9 may be lifted or jacked while the inner end of thepinch bar is engaged with one of the tooth elements 36. This is of particular advantage in freight cars -having trucks provided with inside hung brake shoes where there is generally an opening through which the pinch bar may be passed to engage an exposed tooth or serration 36 at the upper end of the key 9.

- Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred' embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of front and rear faces of said shank, and each such shoulder affording a surface disposed in a plane generally pera '4 a brake shoe'part and comprising a relatively flat, elongated shank having at one end a head adapted to be impacted to drive the key forwardly into a keyway afiorded by complemental sections on the brake head and the brake shoe, said shank having opposed front and rear faces and relatively narrow opposed side walls disposed in planes generally perpendicular to the planes of said faces, one of said faces including an arcuate portion between the opposite ends thereof adapted to be placed ;under compression by engagement thereof with one of said sections when the key is in the keyway, the end portion of the key shank adjacent said head being provided along at least one of said walls with a series of indented serrations which extend from the front to the rear face of said key shank at said end portion of said key shank and which are adapted to be selectively engaged by the end of a tool acting as a lever for forcing the key out of the keyway, each such serration including a shoulder extended inwardly of the related side wall from a line generally perpendicular to the planes of said pendicular to' the' plane of the related side wall of the key shank.

a such changes and alterations as fall within the purview Busse Mar. 20, 1917 1,854,598 Moore Apr. 19, 1932 2,138,196 Prentice Nov. 29, 1938 

